Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.17.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Cognex from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Cognex in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. HSBC lowered Cognex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Cognex from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Cognex Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CGNX stock opened at $30.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.64 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.18. Cognex has a fifty-two week low of $22.67 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Cognex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cognex during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 885 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cognex by 402.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 439.4% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Cognex by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.

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